Journalism and Public Relations PhD

Journalism and Public Relations PhD

Profile

Undertaking a PhD in journalism and public relations provides you with access to a wide range of professional and academic opportunities including quality-assured supervision, producing articles for various media and delivering lectures.

Our Research

Over 80% of Cultural and Media Studies research rated world leading or internationally excellent.

You will become part of the Media and Cultural Studies team contributing to a vibrant learning community. During your studies you will have the opportunity to present papers at conferences, write articles for academic journals and contribute articles to edited collections alongside other publications. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to enrol on a nationally recognised Teaching in Higher Education qualification, allowing you to host undergraduate and postgraduate seminars.

We are a leading research unit at Newcastle University with a strong PhD culture. Our research environment supports world-leading, internationally excellent scholarship. Our approach is distinct and interdisciplinary, focusing across theoretical and applied areas.

Our research is characterised by a critical cultural studies approach, with PhD supervision normally available in the following research areas:

journalism work in transition; the political economy of local media; new understandings of 'local'; widening diversity in the news workforce; journalism education (Mr David Baines)

critical discourse analysis; discourse analysis of new (social) media; national identity; political discourse analysis; ethnicity and immigration; international politics; the Middle East (Dr Majid Khosravinik)

financialisation; the political-economy of Britain since the 1970s; political and financial elites; the UK Treasury; political rhetoric and its construction; the rhetoric of economics; heterodox economics (Dr Catherine Walsh)

Training & Skills

As a research student you will receive a tailored package of academic and administrative support to ensure you maximise your research and future career. The academic information is in the programme profile and you will be supported by our doctoral training centres, Faculty Training Programme and Research Student Support Team.

Research training

Our Faculty Training Programme provides a community made up of postgraduate social sciences and humanities students and staff. It is a unique blend of cross-disciplinary and generic researcher development training, recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as providing a solid basis for doctoral study.

Although your focus will be on your specialist study, our aim is for you to develop a broad range of research and project management skills that will support you in your career ahead. We have nurtured a multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary and supportive environment where staff and students from across the world can come together and share their research experiences. You can also choose to register for a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Training, which accredits the core foundation modules on the training programme.

You will study in our Doctoral Training Suite with purpose-built facilities for lectures, workshops, seminars and computer access to specialist software required for doctoral research in the social sciences and humanities. Each year we have two student-led research postgraduate conferences and we have a variety of prizes and awards to celebrate the successes of our students.

ESRC Northern Ireland/North East (NINE) Doctoral Training Partnership

The ESRC Northern Ireland/North East (NINE) Doctoral Training Partnership is a joint venture between Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Sunderland, Teesside University and Ulster University. We are a centre of excellence for postgraduate social sciences. We offer a world-class, interdisciplinary environment for doctoral training and research.

Funded and accredited by the ESRC, we are one of the most innovative of the national network of doctoral training centres with a strong track record of partnership working with public, private and community organisations.

Postgraduate Research Student Support

Our award winningResearch Student Support Team is dedicated to providing you with information, support and advice throughout your research degree studies. The team can help and advise you on a variety of issues from registration to producing your transcripts.

How to Apply

You need to submit a research proposal with your application. This should be linked to the work of a supervisor or research group at the University. Read our guidelines for producing a research proposal (PDF: 41.5KB) from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science Graduate School.

When making your online application, please insert one of the following programme codes on the 'Programme of Study' page:

8834F (PhD, full time)

8836P (PhD, part time)

7018F (MPhil, full time)

7019P (MPhil, part time)

Then select 'PhD Media, Culture and Heritage' and the 'Research Area' Journalism and Public Relations.

Start dates

There are usually two possible start dates, although in some circumstances an alternative start date can be arranged:

September

January

There is no application closing date for this course, but specific deadlines for funding may apply.

We suggest international students apply at least two months before the course starts. This is so that you have enough time to make the necessary arrangements.

Deposit

If you live outside the UK/EU you must:

pay a deposit of £1,500

or submit an official letter of sponsorship

The deposit is payable after you receive an offer to study at Newcastle University. The deposit is non-refundable, but is deducted from your tuition fees when you register.